Abstract:
Objective To assess the safety of Baizhu(Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz).
Methods Maximal tolerance test was used to assess acute oral toxicity; methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium(MTT)test, neutral red intake test and clone-forming test were used to assess cytotoxicity; micronucleus test of bone marrow cell, Ames test, mouse lymphoma TK gene mutation assay and comet assay were used to assess genotoxicity.
Results The extract of Baizhu was nontoxic according to the acute toxicity test, In MTT test and neutral red intake test, cytotoxicity was not observed at the doses tested, in clone-forming test the dose-dependent cytotoxicity was obser ved at the dose range of 2.5~10.0 g/L.The results of four genotoxicity tests were all negative, which showed there was no genotoxicity.
Conclusion The water-soluble extract of Baizhu is of low toxicity.